DOI Heft:
No. 106 (January, 1902)
DOI Artikel:Fred, Alfred W.: The Darmstadt artists' colony
DOI Seite / Zitierlink: https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.19874#0288
The Darmstadt Artists Colony
BY PAUL BURCK
where. The facade is, for the greater part, hidden
by glass mosaics ; the chimney-stack is painted; in
the interior there is no window without an in-
sertion of stained glass, no textile material without
some rich colour effect.
The house is called " In Rosen." This is to say,
the motif of the rose, as flower, blossom, or leaf,
recurs in a hundred variations. All the tapes-
tries (most of them woven in Scherebeck) employed
for covering walls, or for chair-backs, etc.—there
are several excellent examples in the dining-room
—have rose ornamentations.
Shape and outline in this house are less
emphasised than colour. If we except a few of
the electric light fittings, and the simple, cheerful
dining-room, as well as the stove in the large hall,
it may be said that the lines of the furniture are
simple, straight, and not always modern. The
gradations of colour and light are the factors which
have to produce effect in Professor Christiansen's
house. Nothing new need be said of the art of
glass-staining, which is a special branch of Hans
Christiansen's activity. It has often been discussed
in these pages.
Hans Christiansen has designed for the Colony
a large number of small objects. His silk stuffs,
for ladies' dresses and men's neckties, which
possess a soft lustre and have a good effect in
the light, are quite charming, and should be
generally appreciated.
The jewellery designed by the artist has been
very successful. Of course, enamel is his favourite
material. In no other substance is it possible to
convey one's love for colour more effectively. A
set of necklaces, buckles, and buttons, ornamented
with enamel of the most costly description, is very
attractive; the rare combinations of colour and
the many lights and reflections on the metallic
surfaces have a curious charm.
In other articles of jewellery Christiansen follows
the methods of the French, by interlacing the lines,
or endeavouring, chiefly by accumulating the
material, to create an impression of exceeding
costliness. I remember a lady's ring of his which
contains a large number of pearls heaped together
—a piece of tasteless extravagance.
To conclude : What Professor Christiansen still
wants, and what he will, it is to be hoped, acquire
in the future through his connection with the
Colony, is artistic firmness, the capacity of varying
his means, of adequately expressing his impressions,
now in one way, now in another. At present
everything in his eyes is simply a combination
of colours.
27S
BY PAUL BURCK
where. The facade is, for the greater part, hidden
by glass mosaics ; the chimney-stack is painted; in
the interior there is no window without an in-
sertion of stained glass, no textile material without
some rich colour effect.
The house is called " In Rosen." This is to say,
the motif of the rose, as flower, blossom, or leaf,
recurs in a hundred variations. All the tapes-
tries (most of them woven in Scherebeck) employed
for covering walls, or for chair-backs, etc.—there
are several excellent examples in the dining-room
—have rose ornamentations.
Shape and outline in this house are less
emphasised than colour. If we except a few of
the electric light fittings, and the simple, cheerful
dining-room, as well as the stove in the large hall,
it may be said that the lines of the furniture are
simple, straight, and not always modern. The
gradations of colour and light are the factors which
have to produce effect in Professor Christiansen's
house. Nothing new need be said of the art of
glass-staining, which is a special branch of Hans
Christiansen's activity. It has often been discussed
in these pages.
Hans Christiansen has designed for the Colony
a large number of small objects. His silk stuffs,
for ladies' dresses and men's neckties, which
possess a soft lustre and have a good effect in
the light, are quite charming, and should be
generally appreciated.
The jewellery designed by the artist has been
very successful. Of course, enamel is his favourite
material. In no other substance is it possible to
convey one's love for colour more effectively. A
set of necklaces, buckles, and buttons, ornamented
with enamel of the most costly description, is very
attractive; the rare combinations of colour and
the many lights and reflections on the metallic
surfaces have a curious charm.
In other articles of jewellery Christiansen follows
the methods of the French, by interlacing the lines,
or endeavouring, chiefly by accumulating the
material, to create an impression of exceeding
costliness. I remember a lady's ring of his which
contains a large number of pearls heaped together
—a piece of tasteless extravagance.
To conclude : What Professor Christiansen still
wants, and what he will, it is to be hoped, acquire
in the future through his connection with the
Colony, is artistic firmness, the capacity of varying
his means, of adequately expressing his impressions,
now in one way, now in another. At present
everything in his eyes is simply a combination
of colours.
27S